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'38 Olds Headlight Interchange


Starfire61

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I recently acquired a 1938 Olds F-Series convertible that has been converted to sealed beam headlights.

In hoping to undo the conversion, I've managed to find a set of lenses that are correct for the Olds.  These came in a batch of headlight parts that are mostly '39 Cadillac.  I'm unsure which of these Cadillac parts might work on the Olds.

The Cadillac buckets and aiming mechanisms clearly have a right side/left side orientation and look as though they'll fit into the Olds without difficulty.  

However, the reflectors are a puzzle.  Both the headlight and parking light bulbs are offset slightly to one side of the reflector, and it's the same sided offset in both reflectors.  I would think that the reflectors would be mirror images of each other if they were left & right sided, so I can't quite figure out what I'm dealing with.  Why the offset?  Did the '39 Cadillac have left/right sided headlight reflectors?

FWIW, the '38 Olds master parts book lists only one headlight reflector for both sides of the F and L series of cars- part #922315.

I'd be grateful if anyone can shed any light into whether these '39 Cadillac reflectors with their matching bulb offsets would be appropriate for a '38 Olds, and if not, what other headlight parts of the era might properly interchange.

Buying this car was a big leap out of my early-60's comfort zone.  Any advice or assistance would be much appreciated!

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